US military admits civilian casualties during Somalia airstrikes

NAIROBI, Somalia - The US army has once again admitted civilian casualties in Somalia, a country which has been in shambles for decades, further showcasing the ability to remain transparent in her operations within the Horn of Africa nation, which are done with the assistance of Somali National Army [SNA].

The US Africa Command, which leads all troops working within Africa, released the quarterly report just a month before the end of the year. The civilian
casualty assessment as part of the command’s commitment to improving transparency and accountability in our assessment and reporting of civilian casualty allegations.

This is the third civilian casualty assessment report since U.S. Africa Command [USAFRICOM] began releasing quarterly reports in April 2020. The program was launched following increased complaints from members of the general public who accused the army of targeting civilians.

During the past quarter, the command continued to refine its website to enhance the ability to receive civilian casualty allegations in multiple languages to make communication between the civilian casualty assessment team and regional and international stakeholders more efficient.

The command continues its commitment to degrading the capability of al-Shabaab to conduct external operations planning and attacks, the command said, adding that: "USAFRICOM strikes are conducted in support of the Federal Government of Somalia and support U.S. national security interests."

USAFRICOM began the quarter with four (4) open cases. During the quarter, the command received four allegations about two new possible incidents, adding two (2) new cases for a total of six (6) open cases. USAFRICOM also received six additional allegations on a previously reported incident which remains open and is currently being assessed.

During the past quarter, USAFRICOM has adjudicated in three cases. The command completed an assessment of three civilian casualty incidents, including two that were reported as open in the 3rd quarter report.

Three incidents remain open and under review, including two from the previous report. After a thorough assessment of the facts and circumstances, USAFRICOM substantiated one of these incidents as having resulted in two civilian injuries relating to an airstrike on Feb. 17, 2020.

“We employ a rigorous airstrike and assessment process while operating in a complex and challenging environment,” said U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command. “We are focused on degrading Al-Shabaab, disrupting their activities, and impacting their ability to plan and carry out attacks. Unfortunately in the process of doing so, we assess injuries to two civilians that occurred during an airstrike on February 17.”

Feb. 17, 2020, civilian casualty incident has been reported to the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, the U.S. Congress, and the Federal Government of Somalia.

“In my 38 years of experience, including combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, I have never seen more pain-staking efforts to strike with precision and limit any harm to civilians,” said Townsend. “Our efforts to degrade dangerous terrorist threats while also avoiding civilian causalities and remaining transparent are without parallel.”

Discrepancies between USAFRICOM civilian casualty assessments and NGO Reports. USAFRICOM assessments of civilian casualty allegations sometimes differ from other organizations, including Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) for a number of reasons, it added in a statement on Friday.

The command’s information is based on reliable and layered intelligence sources that are not available to the public. This can contribute to perceived discrepancies between the command’s findings and those of others.

Additionally, U.S. Africa Command, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, works with Somali leadership and community leaders to assess reported cases of civilian casualties.

GAROWE ONLINE